About

Anastasia James is currently Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at The Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz where she also teaches advanced courses in museum history and theory. Her scholarly research focuses on both under-recognized and popular figures in the American avant-garde from 1930-present and the influence of American pragmatism on aesthetics. As a Curator, she is known for my innovative and inclusive approaches to exhibition making and programming and her projects have been referred to by The New York Times as “celebratory,” “strident,” and “remarkable.” For her recent retrospective of the artist Cary Leibowitz, which foregrounded issues of sexual and religious identity, Forbes Magazine described James as “wonderfully adventurous.”

In addition to curating exhibitions, James has produced and managed over 20 exhibitions with guest curators around the world. In her practice James prioritizes diversity and accessibility and actively advocates for inclusion of women and people of color in exhibitions, programs, acquisitions, and community advisory groups. At the State University of New York, New Paltz, James currently sits on the Diversity Board and the Sustainability Committee and is a steering committee member of the LGBTQI Living-Learning community and and affiliate of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department.

Prior to joining the Dorsky team, she has held curatorial positions at numerous institutions including The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco and The Queens Museum and provided research support for the development of large exhibitions both in the States and abroad at institutions including The Andy Warhol Museum, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Wurtembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, and the Dia Foundation for the Arts. James received her MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies Bard College where her thesis focused on Ray Johnson's work ca. 1947-1960.